Mayors and City Councils

In the mayor-council form of city government, voters elect both a mayor and a council, a separation of powers modeled loosely on the state and federal governments. In strong-mayor systems, used in many of the largest cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston, the mayor runs city departments, appoints and removes their heads, prepares the budget, and can veto council legislation. In weak-mayor systems, the council holds most executive and budget authority, and the mayor presides and serves as the city's public face.

City councils, sometimes called boards of aldermen or commissions, pass local ordinances, approve budgets and taxes, decide zoning and land use, and oversee city agencies. Their size ranges from a handful of members in small towns to 50 in Chicago and 51 in New York. Members may be elected by district, also called wards, at large across the whole city, or by a mix, and courts have struck down some at-large systems under the Voting Rights Act for diluting minority votes. Most city elections are officially nonpartisan, though big-city politics is often dominated by one party.

Turnout in city elections held apart from state and federal races is often low, and a number of states, including California, have moved local elections to even-numbered years to raise participation. Mayors have taken on growing national roles, through organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors, founded in 1932, and in debates over policing, immigration, housing, and public health, and some mayors have gained authority over schools. Supporters of strong mayors say clear executive leadership improves accountability, while advocates of council power or professional managers say it limits patronage and personal politics.